Tag Archives: interpretations

Nick Cave: As I sat sadly by her side

STEP 1

Ask your students to step to the window and look out for 30 seconds, trying to remember as much as possible. After that, they should sit down and individually describe what they saw in as much detail as possible. (This is a nice opportunity to revise past simple structures such as I saw… There were… etc.)

STEP 2

Ask students to find a partner and compare their notes with at least 3 different people. Ask if they all noticed the same things and if there are any reasons why some people noticed different things than others or interpreted them in a different way.

STEP 3

Ask students to listen to this song

STEP 4

Have students work in small groups to try to understand the song. They might need dictionaries or internet to be able to understand everything. Each group writes a short paragraph on how they understand it. They share their ideas with other groups and discuss the following questions:

Who are the people in the song? What is their relationship?

What function does the cat have?

How does what you see through the window relate to the people in the song?

If they are interested in more, they can try to find interpretations of other people on websites such as http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/82387/

http://therumpus.net/2013/08/nick-cave-monday-50-as-i-sat-sadly-by-her-side/